Yoba, I rewrote this scene about ten times... I hope it flows correctly and that there's no inconsistences when it comes to character interactions. Apologies if there are.

TW: Parental Abuse/Manipulation.

Chapter eight - Memories

Just over a week had passed since Rina's accident and she was back to normal. Things were a little uneasy in town, apparently there had been massive tension between three certain people and Rina was attempting to steer clear of that whole mess, though she knew it unintentionally revolved around her. Her wound had healed nicely and she had been completely signed off from the clinic and had made mental notes not to go back unless she had to. Being winter, there wasn't much she could do in terms of farm work. She was in the process of getting her greenhouse repaired but it was taking a while. To keep busy, she often travelled to the mines and she had made a lot of money from selling the rare stones that she had found. Initially she made sure to keep one of each that she found for herself, a sort of, backup nest egg in jewel form. She had been asked to donate to the museum so she contributed there where she could and had been given a few things in return. Finally, she had hired Robin to fix up and expand her home now that her animals were thriving in their rather fancy coops and barns.

For the moment she was currently lying on her bed with her pet cat, Mochi. He had moved himself in halfway through the Spring. She didn't mind, she hadn't had a pet before and was enjoying the company and comfort he gave. She flicked through the catalogue of furniture that Robin had given her. 'See? If I bought that nice table there and that rug, we can have our own little breakfast nook,' she explained to the ginger tom. 'I desperately need to change the wallpaper and tiles in the kitchen though,' she added in a world of her own. 'I need to upgrade my shed too, I'm tired of having those preserving jars in the corner, they make all sorts of noises I swear.'

He miaowed in reply and she smiled, giving him a scratch under the chin. 'I'm making good money now,' she mused. 'Might be able to buy you a bigger bed, so you don't sleep on mine,' she teased as he purred. There was a ringing sound and she looked at the dock on the bookshelf where her phone was. 'Answer,' she said simply and the speaker clicked on. 'Hello?' She said simply.

'It's me,' Sebastian said tiredly. 'Can… I come over tonight? Things here are… a little heated,' he said quietly.

Rina frowned as she heard him. 'Yeah, of course you can,' she said simply. 'You know you don't have to ask. As usual, I might wake you up at the crack of dawn. I know you're not used to light at that hour,' she teased.

Sebastian chuckled. 'Yeah, yeah. It's still dark at this time of year, I'm sure I'll be able to fall asleep again while you're freezing your ass off, feeding the ducks and that,' he pointed out. Rina laughed and then Sebastian spoke again. 'I'm just shoving some clothes into a bag; I'll be there in about fifteen.'

'Be careful along the back road, it's getting late,' she said simply as he said goodbye and hung up. Rina got off the bed and walked into her kitchen, 'this sounds like it's going to be a wine job,' she said to Mochi who followed her in hope of food. 'Good thing I got a few bottles from last season's fruits. Though, would be better if I could age it,' she said to herself. 'Ah, it'll do,' she shrugged. As she pulled out a few different bottles, (different flavours) the phone rang again. 'Answer,' she said amused and began speaking once it had connected. 'Did you realise that you already have clothing over here?' She said with a smirk.

There was a pause on the other end and Rina tilted her head. She was about to repeat herself when a voice replied. 'I see. In the countryside… spreading your oats, are you?'

'N-No,' Rina said in a gasp and dropped the bottle that she was holding. It smashed against the floor and wine spread over her bare feet causing Mochi to yowl in displeasure and run off to her bed. She wasn't answering his question, it was more in denial of who was calling. Thankfully she hadn't been injured by the glass and she gingerly pulled herself up onto her kitchen counter where she could shuffle along and out the way of the accident. She felt her entire body begin to shake as a flood of emotions crashed onto her. 'Why are you calling me?! I said I didn't want anything to do with you!' She shouts at her phone, there was no need. It would have picked up her voice clearly from across the room.

'Can a father not call his daughter? You didn't answer on your birthday and it's been almost a year since this… flight of fancy of yours. I've let you be independent for whatever good it would do for you. Now I find out you're entertaining-'

Rina shook her head, looking at her hands. Anger was quickly overriding all the fear and anxiety that was riddling her body. 'You never gave a damn about me before I left. Why break the habit of a lifetime?' Rina snapped as she interrupts him.

'Now, less of that tone,' he replied simply, ignoring her outburst. 'I'm simply concerned about your future-'

'What I do in my life is none of your business. I have asked for nothing from you and I'm not about to start now,' she added as she finally reached the end of the counter and slid off onto the tiled floor, only just catching her toes in the puddle of wine. She was annoyed that in just a few words, he had made her feel like she was a child once more. That she had done something wrong.

'Ophelia, you're being rather rude-' her father's voice held steel and she glared at the speaker. Wishing it was him for a moment so that her intense gaze could set him on fire.

'No, this is me being rude: Piss off!' She snarls and desperately ignores the tears that fill her eyes.

There's a pause before he replies, 'I raised you better than this-'

Rina barked a laugh and gingerly stepped around the tiles, 'oh, get over yourself! You didn't raise me at all, you misogynistic, narcissist! I barely saw you before mother died and after she did, I only ever saw you when you had to talk to my teachers or if I had done something wrong!' She babbled. What am I doing? This isn't a damn therapy session! Hang up on him, you silly bitch! She mentally swore at herself. The problem was, she wanted to know what he was going to say next.

'Ophelia!' He scolded, causing her to jolt at his tone and her tears to fall. 'You will treat me with respect. I am your father!' Gideon snapped. 'I wanted nothing but the best for your future and I will not be demonised for providing such-'

Rina tiptoed past the puddle and breathes heavily, so glad that he couldn't see her and only hear her. 'Sorry, Daddy, your prize bitch isn't listening!'

'Stop this behaviour! Your little rebellion isn't working, I know you're going to be crawling back to me once that… boy… breaks your heart. You were always weak to the slightest show of affection, Ophelia. Just be lucky that you have a father like me. Any other would let you simply live with your mistakes, at least I am willing to take you back home and still try to salvage a future for you,' he replies, his tone making it very clear that he was holding back a fair bit of frustration. Rina blinked back her tears and her mouth thinned as she listened.

'I don't want any future you provide and it doesn't matter who this 'boy' is,' she said, annoyed that her father would automatically assume that she had fallen for Sebastian. Deep down, it was more annoying because she felt like he was right. Sebastian was really the first 'guy' she had met when coming to Pelican town and recently she was having conflicting feelings… because Sebastian clearly cared about her. Rina pulled herself together. 'I will never come back to you,' she said firmly.

'Ophelia, this is a family business, all you're doing is hurting your mother's memories and her legacy-'

It was clear he was trying a different tactic and Rina had had enough. 'What, are your business deals falling through now that you can no longer sell off your daughter to the highest weak chinned, runny eyed, yellow bellied, upper class, pathetic excuse for a human being?'

'If you continue to be difficult, I'll have no choices left to me, Ophelia-'

Rina interrupts loudly, '-And I don't give a fuck! Now disconnect!' She commanded and the speaker fell silent. Her breathing was hot and heavy and she had tears streaming down her face without her noticing. Her entire body was shaking and she felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack. She had no idea how long she stood there, but wasn't a moment too soon that she heard the sound of a motorcycle engine.

Without caring about shoes, Rina ran outside and almost tackled Sebastian off his feet as he dismounted. 'Hey,' he laughed as he pulled off his helmet. 'Where's the fire?' He asked. Rina ignored him and began to root through his leather jacket, finally finding his cigarettes and lighter. He raised his eyebrows and looked at her carefully, her eyes were red and she seemed frantic, almost panicked.

'Thank fuck,' she whimpers before she walked back to her porch, sitting heavily on the wooden deck. She pulled one out the pack and lit it, her entire being focused on the little white stick in her fingers. She breathed in deeply, causing the end to flare in brightness, before exhaling and resting her head on her other arm which rested on her knees. Sebastian grabs his bag and walked over to her, crouching low to the ground as he looked up at her on her step.

He gently took the cigarette from her outstretched, shaking hand and put it in his own mouth as he inhaled before placing it back between her fingers. She hadn't moved at all and he was concerned. Dropping his bag, he sat next to her and placed a gentle hand on her back. 'What's wrong?' He asked.

Rina shook her head and lifted it to inhale on the cigarette again, 'I'll be fine in a moment. Don't focus on me, tell me what's going on with you. You first,' she insisted through a stream of smoke that came out with her voice. They shared the cigarette between them for a moment. He had a suspicion as to why she was smoking but knew to ask about it later.

Sebastian sighed and ran a hand through his hair, 'it's stupid… really. Demetrius and I had an argument about this whole situation. Sam found out about Abi lying to us about the whole, asking you to join us thing and I told him not to confront her about it. He didn't listen of course and when they were hanging out, well she said something and he went off on one. I hadn't spoken to her since my birthday, I hadn't even opened her texts and earlier today she came over and well, she started to just rant at me. Said that I was being oblivious and that you were clearly attempting to divide the friendship group. That I was being blind and all this shit,' he muttered.

'Woah, sounds like a load of crap,' Rina nodded as she flicked the cigarette onto the floor and Sebastian stretched out a leg and stomped on it with a boot. There was a moment of silence as he took out another and lit it, taking a toke before giving it to her. The idea of just giving Rina her own one to smoke didn't occur to either of them.

He nods as he continues the story, 'she was sobbing and had this bubble coming out her nose and I just… shut the door on her,' he said simply. 'She was outside my room; I wouldn't let her in and I could hear her crying and shouting at me as she left. About an hour later, Demetrius knocked on my door and he was going on about how I was being immature, that I should have at least heard her out. I said I didn't have to, that she was being unreasonable. I didn't deserve to be spoken to like that. Demetrius said that I should be the larger person,' he snorted in annoyance. 'I shouldn't have to be the bigger person; I'm not going to pander to her behaviour.'

'A little toxic that's for sure,' Rina agreed. She was torn, Abi was a really nice person but she had lately been displaying these horrible traits causing mental confliction. 'I don't know what's going on in her head but it's like a maze in there. It seems to be on fire, too,' she added.

Sebastian nodded and sighed, 'so I got into an argument with Demetrius, next thing I know I can hear my mum and him "discussing" it upstairs, my mum was getting upset and it seems this whole thing is getting to her and I don't want that. I just don't know how to make this situation end,' he muttered as he held the cigarette. Rina couldn't help but shiver, she was just wearing one of Sebastian's old shirts and a pair of shorts. He looks over at her, 'oh, I'm sorry, you can go in if you want to warm up.'

'Nah,' she said shaking her head. 'Besides, I kinda want to finish the one we've started,' she admitted.

'Alright, last one for you though,' he said but shrugs off his leather jacket before draping it over her shoulders. 'We shouldn't take too long,' he added as he passes it over to her.

'So, what are you going to do about this thing with Sam and Abigail?' Rina asked.

'I'm going to put it bluntly to her. I'm going to tell her that you're one of my best friends and if she's not okay with that, well, that's her problem and she needs to deal with it. She's not to drag my family into this mess, nor you. Either she can be civil or I don't want her in my life anymore,' he said as he took back the cigarette.

Rina pulled a face, 'are you sure you want to cut her out? I mean, that's a lot and I get why. I can't help but feel guilty,' she said in an exhale of smoke.

He shrugged a shoulder, 'honestly, this has been coming for a while. The last year hasn't been great in terms of our friendship, she's not gotten any better despite the fact that I've spoken to her about it several times. I don't want to leave town and leave you with all this, I can't see it improving when I'm gone,' he said.

'Speaking of which, have you found a place yet?' Rina asked as she leaned on his shoulder. She was going to miss him when he moved but Rina knew that he had to go his own way, she understood how that felt. Sebastian shook his head and grunted, meaning no. They finished the cigarette and he stood up, reaching down to pull her up onto her feet. They wandered inside and Mochi bounded out to greet Sebastian, who obliged in giving him a good scratch before starting to take off his boots.

Rina sighed as she realised that she hadn't cleaned up the wine that she had dropped earlier. 'Fuck,' she muttered as she reached over and grabbed her mop. Sebastian saw what she was doing and moved over to her quickly, leaving his boots on but untied.

'Damn, what the hell happened?' He asked as he literally picked her up around the waist causing her to squeak,

'Sebastian! Put me down this instant!' She said, thumping his shoulder with a balled-up hand; though not hard enough to hurt him. Privately, her mind loved the fact that he was able to lift her with ease and almost hold her up at arm's length. Her fear of heights overrode that rather naughty thought and she continued to wriggle so he'd put her down.

'You're not wearing shoes!' Sebastian explained while he ignored her protests. He places her on the table and took the mop off her. 'Tyrell, why is the floor covered in wine- No, Mochi!' He said picking up the cat and putting him on Rina's lap making her roll her eyes. He looked around and then back at Rina, 'okay? What the hell happened? Did you see a mouse?'

'Did you see a mouse?' Rina said in a mocking voice. 'No, I didn't see a mouse. There aren't any mice with Mochi around,' she said in praise as she cuddled her cat.

'So, what happened?' He asked as he began to clean up the broken glass and mop the floor.

He looked at Rina and she seemed incredibly tense. 'The audio system automatically records, right?' She mumbled as she stroked Mochi's head. Sebastian leaned on the mop and nodded, she sighed and smiled weakly. 'How do I get it to replay?' She asked. The reason it recorded all calls was because Rina often took orders over the phone and sometimes, she wasn't near a pen and paper. She had an answering message before the call was even connected to her, letting the contact know that the message may be recorded. It saved any future worries on her part. Sebastian gave the command for the replay and there was a brief crackling noise before it kicked in. Rina attempted to drown out the conversation that was playing and tuned in towards the end.

'Can a father not call his daughter? You didn't answer on your birthday and it's been almost a year since this… flight of fancy of yours. I've let you be independent for whatever good it would do for you. Now I find out you're entertaining-'

Sebastian looks at Rina and she doesn't dare look back at him. Anger rises in his chest as her tense jaw and the way she clearly was trying not to listen.

… 'You never gave a damn about me before I left. Why break the habit of a lifetime?

Rina sniffs and wipes her nose with the back of her hand, she strokes Mochi, listening to his purr and ignoring the stiffness from Sebastian as he continued to clear up the glass. The atmosphere in her house had turned sour, though she knew it wasn't her fault or directed at her, she felt guilty.

'Or is it because I'm no longer a pawn in your plans? What I do in my life is none of your business. I have asked for nothing from you and I'm not about to start now.'

'Ophelia, you're being rather rude-'

… '-Piss off!'

… '-No choices left to me…'

Her father's threat echoed in Sebastian's ears and he looks at Rina, tears were falling from her eyes though he could see that she was trying so hard to hold it all together. Shoving any conflicting feelings about their relationship to one side, he knew that she needed his support at this moment. He placed the mop to one side, moving over to give her a hug. 'No wonder you left,' he said quietly. Rina had let Mochi move as Sebastian came near and so she could reciprocate his embrace. Unfortunately, the comfort broke her and she couldn't help but let out a sob. Sebastian held her closer as he stroked her hair and makes comforting noises as Rina tightens her grip on his hoodie, terrified that her father might actually have a way to tear this all from her grasp.